Portable fuel-cell generator from BOC

Trade News

Guildford, UK, 19 March 2010 - The Hymera portable power generator from BOC is the first 150W hydrogen fuel-cell powered electricity generator on the market. It is a lightweight, clean and quiet off-grid power supply that is ideal for today’s high-tech, low energy technologies like LED floodlighting and for charging cordless tools on site. It is an environmentally-friendly alternative to conventional diesel or petrol powered generators and marks the start of a new age in off-grid power generation.

Hydrogen fuel cells are almost silent, so they can be used in situations where noise is an issue – for example in residential areas at night. Reducing the exposure of employees to continuous high levels of noise is also an increasingly important concern for many companies.

Because they do not emit any potentially harmful substances (like carbon monoxide and nitrous oxide) the Hymera can be used in places where these types of emissions could become problematic.

The Hymera hydrogen fuel cell generator has a number of advantages over conventional fossil fuel-driven units. Hydrogen fuel cells generate electricity from the reaction of hydrogen with oxygen from the air. Like a battery, a fuel cell employs an electrochemical process that produces no sound and is very efficient. What is more, the only exhaust emissions from a hydrogen fuel cell electric generator are water or water vapour. The Hymera has a fraction of the carbon footprint of a conventional diesel or petrol generator when used to power low-power loads.

The other great advantage of fuel cells is that they can be built to virtually any scale (from a few Watts to a several Megawatts) while still maintaining their very high efficiency.

Petrol and diesel generators (the smallest is just under 1kW) have very poor efficiency at low and part load – less than five percent in some cases. So there is no benefit in using a high efficiency floodlight rather than a conventional tungsten floodlight with a petrol or diesel generator – the fuel consumption per hour would only be reduced by a small amount. While other technologies, such as lighting, computing and visual displays, have made big improvements in efficiency (i.e. they do the same work as before but use much less energy), petrol and diesel generators have not downsized to match the reduced power requirement of many loads.

BOC, a member of The Linde Group, also provides a comprehensive range of solutions for all welding and industrial gas requirements.

BOC

BOC is a member of The Linde Group. An industrial, medical and special gases provider, the company supplies compressed and bulk gases, chemicals and equipment. For more than a century the company's gases and expertise have contributed to advances in many areas of everyday life, and industries including steelmaking, refining, chemical processing, environmental protection, wastewater treatment, welding and cutting, food processing and distribution, glass production, electronics and health care.

The Linde Group is a world leading gases and engineering company with almost 48,000 employees working in more than 100 countries worldwide. In the 2009 financial year it achieved sales of EUR 11.2 billion. The strategy of The Linde Group is geared towards sustainable earnings-based growth and focuses on the expansion of its international business with forward-looking products and services. Linde acts responsibly towards its shareholders, business partners, employees, society and the environment – in every one of its business areas, regions and locations across the globe. Linde is committed to technologies and products that unite the goals of customer value and sustainable development.